For at least the last fifteen years, bars and restaurants have been serving mixed drinks without mixing the drink. That is, a generally ethyl alcohol containing fluid is poured into a container, e.g., a shot glass, that is physically located inside another container, e.g., a tumbler. The volume between the outside of the inner container and the inside of the outer container is generally filled with a non-alcoholic fluid. Patrons tip up the outer container, with the inner container initially resting on the bottom, to cause some mixing of the two fluids. Alcohol serving establishments have put much creative effort into different fluid combinations and container sizes. There does not seem to be a generic name for this mode of delivery but the terms “shooters” or “bombers” are sometimes used.
In spite of the great popularity, this mode of delivery has certain disadvantages. First, it can be hard to pour into the annular space between the inner and outer container. One method is to fill the outer container and inner container separately. However, this means the outer walls of the inner container are handled by the server and possibly set down on a table. When the inner container is placed in the outer container, any contamination will be transferred to the fluid in the outer container. Second, on the way from a pouring station to a patron, the inner container can possibly move around vigorously enough inside the outer container to cause premature mixing of the fluids. This can be reduced by making the inner container more massive. However, that can be a hazard to patrons while they are attempting to drink from the combination. In addition, heavy containers are harder to carry, both for serving persons and other personnel who must handle them. Third, the variety of possible containers available to be used allows for creativity, but does not yield uniform consistent mixing results. Fourth, the two separate containers must be washed and stored separately. Reducing labor is always desirable. Also, in many bars, shelf space is in limited supply and a way of reducing the need for it would be very desirable.
The only mode of delivering two fluids known to the inventors that does not involve two separate cups uses a two chamber vessel shaped in the form of an hour glass with an open top. (As of this filing, it can be seen at www(dot)quaffer(dot)com.) Based on the website video, a non-alcoholic fluid chaser is poured into the bottom chamber. Then, by tilting the vessel sideways and pouring carefully, the top chamber is partially filled with an alcohol containing fluid. If successful, the drinking experience apparently consists of the alcoholic fluid followed by the non-alcoholic chaser. However, this does not provide the experience of the aforementioned shooter that consists of a continual flow of a mixture of the two fluids.
There must be hundreds of U.S. patents directed to beverage containers. Many of these contain two or more compartments. Many of those are essentially sealed storage containers to be opened at the point of use and poured into another vessel. Examples include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,603,485 to Vivier, 4,410,085 to Beneziat et al., 4,762,224 to Hall, 5,215,214 to Lev et al., 6,059,443 to Casey, 6,363,978 to Castillo, and 6,814,990 to Zeng.
For example, the Lev et al. patent, titled “Multi-Compartment. Liquid Storage Container,” has the overall appearance of the well-known pull-tab aluminum beverage can. However, the inventor apparently did not contemplate drinking from it. It has a pull tab (12) disposed in a top wall (14). Removing the pull tab reveals an outer wall (15) of an inner storage container (16), illustrated as a cylinder running from top to bottom of the can. An outer storage container is defined by the annular space between the outer wall of the can (10) and inner wall (15). The patent states that once the pull tab is removed, the contents may be immediately poured (emphasis added) and mixed. Another embodiment adds a section (36) having perforations (38) to the top of the inner container and sealed from compartments below it by penetrable foil membranes (34). After removing the pull tab, the membranes can be pierced by a straw (39) and immediately poured and mixed, see col. 4, ll. 20-21. The purpose of the perforated section is to produce turbulence and improve mixing. Still another embodiment divides the container into two side-by-side halves (52) and (54) along a diagonal (56) and provides a pull-tab (12) for each half. In this case also, when the pull tabs are removed, the contents of compartments may be poured and mixed simultaneously. Because the mixing occurs after pouring into some other container, this patent did not and need not have disclosed mixing properties as fluids exited the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,502,712, issued to Weber-Unger for a “Drinking Vessel,” discloses a wine-type glass having an outer drinking compartment (11) and an inner aroma compartment (21) in fluidic communication with the outer compartment via an aperture (25). The aroma compartment has a wall (24) that keeps fluid from spilling out of the aroma compartment when it is being drunk from the drinking compartment. The aperture is placed so that only enough of the fluid enters the aroma compartment to produce an aroma, but not so much as to spill over the wall. Though interesting, this is not suitable for dispensing mixed drinks.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,030, issued to Frazier for a “Dual-Compartment Drinking Cup” has a front compartment (48) from which fluid is drunk and a rear compartment (46) that acts as storage, see FIG. 1. The two compartments are separated by a planar divider (44) having notches (60) along the sides. As disclosed, “The purpose of angling divider (48) (sic 44) into its two parts (54) and (56) is to inhibit spillage across the top of the divider at high tile angle,” see col. 2, ll. 49-51. The volume of the rear compartment appears to be about twice that of the front. In one mode of operation, the rear is filled while the front is empty. As the cup is tipped toward the front compartment, the fluid from the rear flows through the notches into the front compartment leaving the rear one half-full so that, it is explained, it is possible to make a philosophical point about half-full cups.
In another mode, explained briefly, the cup may be used in connection with in-situ mixing of two different liquids to be ingested simultaneously. Not much detail is given. It appears that there should be some mixing of fluids from the two compartments as the cup is tipped, but the mixing ratio could vary considerably. Also, based on the first mode of operation, half the rear compartment contents would remain after the front one was emptied. Neither of these is desirable for serving mixed drinks. Although one of the objectives was to make the cup from a single mold, the design is fairly complex and the mold may be expensive to make.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 99,531, issued in 1934 to Sterling for a Beverage Container, discloses what appears to be a one-piece construction of a glass vessel within an outer glass vessel. However, because of the curving tapers, it would be impossible to make the part using molding technology. Also, it appears to be impractical to solve the problem addressed in this application because, assuming a reasonable scale, there is little room to pour fluids into the outer chamber. Since it is unlikely that bombers or shooters were popular at that time, this container may have had some other use.
In spite of the large effort that has gone into designing beverage dispensers, for some time there has remained a need for a mixed drink dispenser suitable for use in bars and restaurants. Not only must the dispenser provide patrons with a drink that is mixed as it is consumed, but the article must be inexpensive to make using molding techniques and practical from the standpoint of the proprietor. Until this invention, such a dispenser has not been available.